ATLANTA — Fans are at their edge of their seats on Saturday as the University of Georgia and Alabama go head-to-head in the SEC Championship football game in Atlanta.
Alabama is leading much of the game, with a 24-17 score at halftime above Georgia. UGA fans sighed as one player, Kool-Aid McKinstry, stuck his hand in the air to celebrate a sack on Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett during the first half of the championship.
The Crimson Tide team member has some people on social media wondering: is Kool-Aid his real name? Apparently, McKinstry's legal name is not Kool-Aid and it's just a nickname.
The Alabama star's first name is still legally Ga'Quincy McKinstry, but he's been known as 'Kool-Aid' for years. In a 2019 interview with AL.com, he said it's a pet name his grandmother gave him at birth because he "came out smiling."
McKinstry said he has been telling people to call him Kool-Aid ever since.
His nickname has gotten so popular, the Alabama Crimson Tide football roster used to have McKinstry's legal name listed on the website, but has since dropped it and replaced the defensive back's first name with 'Kool-Aid.'
McKinstry became the first Alabama football player to sign an NIL deal, announcing a partnership with the well-known drink company and his namesake back in August.
"Sooooo does this mean I get to shout OH YEAH if I want when I walk into a new room," he wrote in a tweet.